


feline good

by skyelights



Category: Persona 4, Persona 5
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Nonbinary Character, i intended to write it a little more shippy but oh well, nb yu, they are still gay and in love because i said so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-22 11:43:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22715512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyelights/pseuds/skyelights
Summary: yu really likes cats. akira is bad at claw machines. but he also has a talking cat, so that makes up for it.
Relationships: Kurusu Akira/Narukami Yu, Kurusu Akira/Seta Souji
Comments: 1
Kudos: 65





	feline good

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PerplexedJodi](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=PerplexedJodi).



> this is for the valentine's exchange on the narukamemes discord !! i had jodi, and honestly i was pretty spooked bc i respect them.....a whole lot..... 
> 
> i'm really sorry this ended up so short, but regardless i hope you enjoy !!

"I'm hungry."

"Can't it wait? Look, I told you I was gonna win you this stuffed animal, and --"

"It really can't," Yu whined. "Plus, you've been at this for ..." they pause to check their phone, frowning, "... half an hour already. And you probably could buy something better with all the money you spent already."

Akira's not even really listening. His eyes are trained intently on the claw as he maneuvers it around, making sure it's perfectly aligned above a plush yellow cat with an oddly lopsided face. He came intending to just kill time and hang out, but Yu just _had_ to point out how cute that little cat was, and Akira'd be damned if he at least didn't _try_ for them.

But this time's it. He can feel it. He'll get that goddamned cat. Twenty-fourth time's the charm, anyway.

The bright neon lights around them and the obnoxious dubstep music from overhead sends energy thrumming into his fingertips as he continues to micro-adjust the joystick. This is _his chance_.

Satisfied, he releases the joystick from his white-knuckled grip (his hand was starting to cramp, actually) and slams on the _GO_ button with more force than was probably necessary, and steps back to admire his handiwork.

"Watch," he says simply, like an artist viewing his magnum opus.

"Mhm, I'm looking," Yu responds dryly, their head resting on Akira's shoulder.

The crane drops towards its prey, opening its claws to secure the catch. It ends up grabbing it by the head. Akira's eye twitches. They both watch it inch towards the chute, and suddenly it slips out of the claw's grasp, bouncing off the edge and landing back with the rest of the plushes.

He hears Yu snickering quietly beside him.

"No no no no, I can do it, just let me at it one more time --" Akira seethes through gritted teeth, moving to practically pounce on the machine.

Yu grabs his wrist before he can really get too far, leveling a pout at him. When Akira starts trying to wiggle out of their grip, they huff and tighten it, then proceed to drag him away from the gluttonous machine and out of the arcade entirely, pushing past more than a couple of kids on their way out.

"Come on! I almost had it!" Akira's full-on _pouting_ now, arms crossed and a petulant tone to his voice. He glances over his shoulder to look back at the arcade, giving his best death-glare.

Akira deliberates changing the arcade owner's heart. Corporate greed is some sort of corrupt desire, isn't it?

(For some reason, he doesn't think he others would agree. Maybe Ryuji at best.)

"You come on. I told you I was hungry, and I wanna eat. And now you owe me for making me wait."

Akira grumbles something about kicking the machine, before sighing exaggeratedly. "Well, what do you want? There's a diner just a little ahead, and I think there's a Big Bang Burger back there..."

"Mm. You said your caretaker owns a curry place, right?"

"It's a cafe, but yeah. You know, I make a pretty mean curry. I'll make it up to you that way." Akira smirks, a self-satisfied look on his face.

"If you mess it up, me and my stomach will never forgive you," they tease, elbowing Akira in the side. "Trust me, it's gonna be the best curry of your _life_." Akira laughs, playfully shoving Yu in return. "Just you wait."

\--

"-- are all pointless cashgrabs. The prizes are sold in bulk for cheap, so they're just trying to make a quick buck off you." The entire train ride and the walk over to Leblanc, Yu had gone off on a tangent about how terrible claw machines, and by extension arcade and carnival games were, singlehandedly sapping any fun that Akira would ever have in the future.

"Let me live a little," he grumbled, opening the door to the cafe accompanied by a little _ring_ of the bell.

Oh, Sojiro's here still. Akira figured he would've left by now, considering the cafe was past its closing time, but he didn't mind the extra company.

"Ah, you're back. I was just finishing up around here, so you two can ... get up to whatever you kids do nowadays," Sojiro says with an amused little glint in his eyes.

Akira grins, sidling his way behind the counter. "Yeah, yeah. I'm actually planning on making some curry."

Sojiro nods, already at the door. "Well, try not to make a mess. I'm headed out now."

Yu gives a polite bow as he leaves, and then heads over to sit at the counter. It's a nice little place, they think, and certainly cozy. There's a painting on the wall that catches their eye that seems vaguely familiar, but there's something different about it from what they remember. Regardless, it's a very nice painting.

It seems like the scent of coffee is all-encompassing, almost baked into the walls. It's quite the comforting aroma, and the overall atmosphere is honestly better than he expected from an out-of-the-way cafe.

Breaking them from their thoughts, Yu hears the unmistakably familiar sound of paws pitter-pattering, and their gaze instantly snaps to the staircase. At the base of the steps, there's an absolutely adorable little black kitty - oh god, it has _socks_ too. It gives a little _mrrow_ of delight, hopping up onto the counter to try and see what Akira was up to.

" _Oh my god_. Why didn't you tell me you had a cat?" There's bewilderment in their voice as they say it, eyes still locked onto the cat. "They're so cute - what's their name? Can I pet them?"

Akira turns around from where he was cutting vegetables, and narrows his eyes at the cat resting nonchalantly on the counter. "Oh, that brat? His name's Morgana - don't call him cute though, it'll go straight to his head."

Yu's on their feet in a flash, moving over to Morgana in order to dish out affection. Turns out Morgana's fur is super soft, too, and overall seems he seems like a total sweetheart. Then again, all cats are total sweethearts to Yu. It'd be heartbreaking if they weren't.

"Man, Akira, this guy's _way_ better at this than you!"

"You're probably right. I'm something of a cat whisperer, you know." Yu replies nonchalantly. Morgana mrrps, startled, and suddenly gone rigid beneath Yu's hand. In a flash, Morgana's down from the counter and behind Akira's legs, blinking owlishly at Yu. Yu, more than a little confused, looks from their now cat-less hands to Akira, who looks like he just experienced ten different emotions at once.

Akira's initial response is to chuckle awkwardly. He tugs on a lock of his hair, deliberating the best way to explain what just happened. "Yeah, I also forgot to mention he can talk ...? I mean, you've got a Persona, right? That's probably why you can hear him."

It takes Yu a second -- well, they hadn't really even thought it was _that_ weird for Morgana to start speaking fluent Japanese, all things considered. They nod in understanding, deciding to chalk it up to "unexplainable Persona-related nonsense," listed right under Teddie's very existence and that whole dancing thing.

"You pick up on things quick. Actually, it seems like it didn't even phase you!" Morgana remarks, a note of apprehension still present in his cat-voice. That's still kind of strange to think about, but he's not really too different from Teddie, Yu supposes. "Plus, you have a Persona? I suppose you could be useful," the cat adds, with a little lash of his tail.

"I've seen weirder stuff. Come back here, kitty," they whine, arms extended and making little grabby-hand motions. "Lemme pet you again."

Morgana hesitates for a second, before hopping back up onto the counter and into Yu's arms. Yu hums appreciatively, returning to their showering of affection. They give a few scritches behind the ear juuuuust right and Morgana starts purring like a car - no, a bus engine.

If Yu (and Morgana, for that matter) didn't look like they were literally at their happiest point in life right now, Akira would've mentioned that the curry was ready. The sight was just so heartwarming - endearing, maybe, that he couldn't bear to break either of them apart.

A fond smile crosses Akira's face, one that he'd absolutely deny if Yu had even bothered to look up.

Well, he figures the food could afford to wait a little longer.

**Author's Note:**

> my twitter is @ryujiiuvr so come yell at me there !


End file.
